Tip News Daily Brief

Your Daily Brief

September 28th, 2023

Good morning, and happy Thursday! Looking to catch up on your lingo? Go ahead and read up on the 690 words and definitions that Merriam-Webster has added to its collection. Thirst trap, chef’s kiss, and beast mode are some of the new words that have now received the official stamp of approval from the dictionary. Let us know if you learn any new words - we certainly did!

In Today’s Brief

Azerbaijan: Arrests Armenian leader
Philadelphia: Police detain 50 looters
Breanna Stewart: WNBA’s 2023 MVP
SpaceX: Secures Pentagon contract

...and more

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Travis King returns to the USA

The American soldier, Travis King, who crossed into North Korea in July has now entered U.S. custody, according to U.S. officials.

North Korea announced yesterday that it would expel Pvt. Travis King, who was then transferred out of North Korea into China with help from Sweden. The country’s official Korean Central News Agency reported that authorities had finished their questioning of King and that he confessed to unlawfully entering the North because he harbored “ill feeling” against maltreatment and discrimination within the U.S. Army. Officials said the U.S. learned from Sweden earlier this month that North Korea wished to expel King. No concessions were made to North Korea for his release.

King became the first American confirmed to be detained in the North in nearly five years. At the time he crossed the border, King was supposed to be heading to Fort Bliss, Texas, following his release from prison in South Korea on an assault conviction.

Fire destroys Iraqi wedding party

At least 113 people lost their lives and 150 others were injured after a fire broke out during a wedding celebration in northern Iraq.

The fire engulfed a wedding hall in Nineveh’s Hamdaniya district, where the celebration was taking place. Hamdaniya, also known as Qaraqosh, is a majority-Christian town. The event hall where the celebration was built using prefabricated panels which were “highly flammable and contravened safety standards,” according to civil defense authorities. Iraqi authorities’ initial reports indicated that fireworks may have been the cause of the blaze. Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered an investigation into the fire and asked the country’s interior and health ministry officials to provide relief.

Yesterday, people had already gathered in a Christian cemetery in the area to attend the funerals of some of the fire’s victims. The number of Christians in Iraq today is estimated at 150K, compared to 1.5M in 2003.

Record-setting space mission ends

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio is back on Earth after a record-breaking 371 continuous days in space at the International Space Station.

Rubio and two Russian crewmates parachuted to a landing on the remote steppe of Kazakhstan yesterday, ending the longest single spaceflight ever undertaken by an American. The previous record for the longest continuous spaceflight by an American was held by NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei at 355 days. The mission was only meant to last six months but a piece of space junk pierced the explorers' original capsule late last year, requiring a new Soyuz spacecraft to be rushed up to them for their return journey to Earth.

This was also the third-longest mission off the planet in the history of human spaceflight, eclipsed only by two Russian cosmonauts who lived on the Mir space station in the 1990s. Rubio orbited the Earth about 5,936 times during his spaceflight.

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Around the Globe

Azerbaijan has arrested a former leader of Nagorno-Karabakh, Ruben Vardanyan, as he tried to leave the enclave for Armenia, according to officials; around 50 ethnic Armenians have now fled the region, which was seized by Azerbaijan last week (More)
North Korea’s parliament unanimously moved to enshrine its nuclear program in the country’s constitution; the country’s state news agency stated that the new amendment would establish North Korea’s pursuit of a nuclear force “as the basic law of the state” (More)
The Biden administration is admitting Israel into a group of countries whose citizens are allowed to travel to the U.S. without getting a visa in advance; as of November 30th, Israelis will be able to travel to the U.S. without a visa for work or leisure purposes for up to 90 days (More)

On the Homefront

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez pleaded not guilty to federal charges accusing him of pocketing bribes in exchange for wielding his political influence to advance Egyptian interests and do favors for individuals in the state (More)
Over 50 people were arrested in Philadelphia after groups looted over a dozen stores throughout the city; burglary, theft, and other counts have been filed so far against at least 30 people (More)
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan declined to recuse herself from former President Trump's federal 2020 election interference case; Trump's attorneys argued in a court filing earlier this month that Chutkan should recuse herself because she has "suggested that President Trump should be prosecuted and imprisoned" (More)

Glitz & Games

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Breanna Stewart was named the WNBA’s Most Valuable Player for the second time in her career, becoming the first New York Liberty player in history to pick up the honor; in her first season with the Liberty, Stewart led New York to a regular season record of 32-8 (More)
Bruce Springsteen is postponing the remainder of his 2023 concerts with the E Street Band to be treated for peptic ulcer disease; earlier this month, Springsteen announced he was delaying his September shows under the advice of doctors (More)
TV’s late-night hosts plan to return to regular production as of Monday, October 2nd, ending a months-long pause in a national routine caused by the writers’ strike; Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, and Jimmy Kimmel intend to restart their programs on that date (More)

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Business & Markets

Major indexes in the stock market closed mixed yesterday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 ending slightly higher, while the Dow closed lower (Dow -0.20%, Nasdaq +0.22%, S&P 500 +0.02%)
The Pentagon has awarded Elon Musk’s SpaceX its first confirmed contract for the Starshield network it’s developing, a military-specific version of the company’s Starlink satellite internet system, according to the defense agency (More)
U.S. oil prices topped $94 a barrel yesterday for the first time in over a year; the increase comes after U.S. crude inventories fell by 2.2M barrels last week, according to the Energy Information Administration (More)

Tips & Tricks

Feel Good: Meet Gretchen Holt Witt, a mother who started a nonprofit to fund kids’ cancer research after her 2-year-old son Liam was diagnosed with cancer - even after Liam sadly passed in 2011, Witt’s nonprofit has funneled nearly $20M into lifesaving pediatric oncology research, helping make 25 new treatments available
Sneak Peek: Check out the official trailer for Fair Play, an upcoming Netflix thriller about two co-workers at a cutthroat hedge fund whose secret romance takes a dark turn when one of them receives a promotion instead of the other…making the case for why we shouldn’t date our co-workers
Bump This: Emo-rock elder statesmen BOYS LIKE GIRLS are back with their first new music since 2012, and their feel-good single “NEW LOVE” has been on repeat all week for us - listen on Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube
Chow Down: If you’ve never thought to combine your coffee and your morning smoothie, you’re probably not alone…but we’re here to tell you that it’s awesome - try out this recipe for a coffee smoothie made with banana, almond butter, and more to help you kickstart your mornings
Nerd Out: Scientists revealed a key discovery about antimatter, the name for a mysterious substance known to be the opposite of matter and that once existed in copious amounts at the dawn of time - while antimatter is now notoriously difficult to spot, researchers discovered that it responds to gravity in the same way that matter does…and the findings may lead to new insights into how the Universe began
Hot Goss: A Jack in the Box employee in Houston, Texas, allegedly shot at a drive-thru customer during a dispute that was reportedly over curly fries that were missing from the customer’s order, according to court documents
Life Hack: Taking care of our brains comes down to the choices we make on a daily basis, as well as the habits we fall into (and stay away from) - here are three habits to take part in and four habits to avoid to boost daily brain health, according to a neuropsychologist

Tip-Offs

See America’s (and the world’s) most-searched-for song lyrics.

One man’s plan to solve the enduring mystery of D.B. Cooper.

Learn about Mono Lake, aka California’s very own Dead Sea.

A jaw-dropping video of thousands of dolphins in a mega pod.

The neurological reason why your skin tightens after cleansing.

Breaking down this year’s unlikely popularity of massive shoes.

Mapping each state’s most expensive home currently for sale.

…and listing the top 20 of America’s best-ranked museums.

Looking Back…

On September 28th: Roman Emperor Constantius II defeats the usurper Magnentius in the Battle of Mursa Major (351); eight members of the Chicago White Sox are indicted on charges that they threw the 1919 World Series (1920); SpaceX successfully launches its liquid-fueled rocket Falcon 1 into space (2008); actress Brigitte Bardot is born (1934).

In partnership with The Energy Blueprint